Day 20- Fighting For Me

Well day 20 and it's Easter Eve and I love the thought that Jesus was in Hell at this moment fighting for me. I mean He took my place down there and was my sacrifice once and for all. I will tell people that Jesus will not forgive you today for your sins and He won't forgive you tomorrow either. The reason He won't forgive you is because He already has forgiven you. The deed is done and accomplished. I heard a preacher say once that Christianity isn't a religion of doing, it's a religion of DONE. We don't have to wonder about the blessings that Christ is going to give us, He already has given them to us but we just have to be willing to receive them. It tells us that Jesus went down and preached to lost souls within the three days He was down there. Can you imagine that sermon? I would definitely like a copy of that, I would pay good money for something like that. It is thought to be the souls that went to Hell in between the 400 years that God was silent or the time from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Could you imagine what Jesus said to them "I'm your only and absolutely last chance!" I don't know if that is it exactly but I would assume it went something like that. It must have been quite a sight to behold. I know though that He was down there and I would imagine fighting the damned. What a battle that must have been, I mean I would imagine Satan's army of darkness was ready to receive Him down there and was probably throwing everything they had at Him. However we know that He came forth triumphant! He overcame Hell's best in only 3 days! Wow what a Jesus! I mean everything that the devil had he threw it at Jesus and it might have made it difficult on Jesus it was not enough to keep Him down there forever or even more than 3 days. I am so thankful that He was fighting for me, and that I do not have to endure that fight or go through that pain. That I have a savior who fought for me! Thank you Jesus for taking upon those wounds, not only physical but spiritual, for me. Me who is a sinner that is only saved by your grace and have you living inside of me sourcing and controlling. Take that fighting passion you had and source that through me in every area of my life and let me be the passion people need in an impassioned world!

Day 19- Messenger

I am studying the book of Mark and I'm studying what it means to be a messenger of God. How will people know that I'm a messenger? What traits will I carry, how will I act and what will be my thought patterns? As I began to think on this the word Shalach means an extension of, like a branch. So immediately I began to think of John 15 The Vine and the Branches parable. It tells us that if we don't bear fruit IN HIM that we will be cut off and thrown into the fire. Ok so what are His fruits. So I went to Galatians 5 and found the fruits of the SPIRIT. Ok here we go, others will know that I'm his messenger if I am living in His presence and producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness goodness, gentleness, and self control. But if I don't have these things it tells me in verse 19 that I will have the fruits of the sinful nature and that it will be OBVIOUS that I have those. I began to think on something we could look at a person and it would be obvious that they had made a choice to do something. So I thought of working out. It's obvious when somebody is working out and when they are not. We can see it in their attitude, energy level, body definition, range of movement, and endurance. So if I have the fruits of the Spirit it will be as obvious as whether or not I work out. How simple it is but such a powerful truth that really hit home. (not only on the fruits, but also the working out).

Day 18- Witness

I'm studying in the book of Mark and finding that in the beginning of the book that Mark tells us that there were three witnesses of the Servant's Identity (Jesus). Mark 1:1-11
The first one is himself, that he witnessed the events that he's writing about. He was there when Jesus was doing the miracles and preaching.
The Second is the prophets. In verse 2 and verse 3 he quotes Old Testament, specifically Malachai 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3. He is giving the validity of what he is saying by quoting Isaiah, it was considered to be a source that was respected. If somebody quoted Isaiah then they obviously knew what they were talking about back then.
Third was John the Baptist. He was the one who actually baptized Jesus. He was an extension of God because he was sent by God himself so the authority he had came from the Father. He was also the forerunner of Christ, going before and preparing those who came to him for Jesus and when His ministry would begin. He also called them to repentance, to give up their former thought and embrace a second thought.
I am so thankful that I too am a witness to the Servant's Identity, and that He went before and was a servant, and is a servant by letting me serve Him. I am so thankful that He not only told us how to live, but showed us as well.

Day 17- John The Responder

After studying the first section of Mark where it talks about John the Baptist I see a reoccurring theme throughout all of the gospels about him. The theme is that he was in a constant attitude of response. No figure in the Bible even Jesus is portrayed the same throughout the whole thing. But in every gospel he is described the same and that he is in a constant state of response. I almost think he should not be called John the Baptist but John the Responder. If you look at his entire life he is living in complete and unquestioning response. Isn't it interesting that John was supposed to be a priest, it was even in his lineage, but chose to do the will of the Father. If he wanted to live a comfortable life where he could do ministry in a city where all the people where there already, and the building had A/C and the best restaurants are there to take people out and witness to them...however he didn't choose that. He chose to respond to God and take a Nazirite vow for life, live in the desert, and preach something radical and new and eat locust and wild honey. Let alone his dress was questionable, and surroundings were not fit for a good ministry. But when we respond to the Holy Spirit we get more than what we can do or expect. We get something more than we planned or prepared for, and we are forced to rely on Him. We can think of it as a scary thing or we can think of it as living outside our means. We are able to think like we can't think, love like we can't love, see things like we can't see them. We take on the very characteristics of God because His Spirit is living inside of us! I want that so bad that I'm willing to give up that fear of the unknown and let Him take over the situation so I can live like I am unable to live and break out of my limited box that I seem to stay in. I want Him to shake up my everyday living and rock my traditions and patterns that I have slipped into. Let me become known as The Responder also!

Day 16- Personal Preference

Well as I have studied Mark 1:7 more and more I find out that since Jesus was responding to the Father's will and when He did that Jesus personal preference changed from His own to the Father's. I presented on a conference call today and as we were talking about changing our personal preference even when it comes to the matter of food. What would happen if I get so wrapped up in the Father that if He wants to take me to a restaurant that I don't like to go to I am still willing to go because He sends me there. I have to get to the point that I trust Him and His plans and that there is a purpose for me going there. Isn't it something when we begin to think like that, where something like where we eat could become a witnessing opportunity. Generally we think of witnessing as I have to get in the mindset of it and get ready with all the answers that people might ask, and probably have a scripture ready for them. Why can't I live in this all of the time, not in a attitude of defense, but in an attitude of response. Where I'm going where He's leading me and I'm not worried about it because He will give me the correct thing to say or scripture to present. When I take myself out of the equation and let Him take the reigns then it seems to work out perfect. But if I'm in the driver seat then I am bound for an accident! I want to get so wrapped up in Him that my personal preference changes to His. I want to have the mind of God, and to have my heart beat with His heart, to see and have the vision of Christ. That is my desire more than anything to respond to Him!

Day 15- The Spill You Won't Clean Up

As I begun to read on in Mark (I couldn't wait to keep reading) I was reading how Jesus cast out a demon. I found that very interesting because the demon realized that Jesus was the Son of God before the disciples did! But the fact that Jesus had this indisputable power over this demon gives me a sense of comfort. See I worship the God who has power over everything including any person, situation, demon, or Satan himself! We always have this idea of Satan being this red guy who has horns and a pitch fork with a tail. However I personally think that he is a very beautiful thing, and that we are often deceived because we are expecting the first image. When Jesus cast this demon out the demon knew from the beginning that there was no point in putting up a fight because it knew it would lose. I want that Jesus who is all powerful and everything living thing fears Him, to live inside of me. See when I do that I take upon that power, not by myself but the power He posses I now have because He is my source. Now when I say He's my source I don't mean source like I eat a hamburger and that gives me energy to do things, I mean that everything that I do, all the talents I posses, my drives, my emotions, EVERYTHING comes from Him. When that takes place that I am taking upon His motives, His passions, His desires, I begin to see His vision and see people like He sees them. I don't know if you have ever experienced that, but when the person of Christ comes upon you it is like no other! You will know without a doubt that He is a living source inside of you and you start to act outside of your normal conditions. See when He lives inside of you it is this filling and the more and more that you get into Him the more He fills you and it begins to out pour out of you that people can see a difference and it will be obvious. What a concept that we can get so filled with Jesus that every where we go we just spill Him on everyone and everybody we come in contact with. I mean wouldn't it be something to be so filled with Jesus that people have to wade through Jesus just to get to you! I want that to happen in my life, I have to have Jesus so fill me that the out pour of His Spirit is a natural and moment by moment thing. That it's not something I turn off when I go to bed, but I go to sleep and He's spilling out of me onto my wife. I wake up and He's spilling out of me onto my co-workers. I want Him so dominate in my life that other people begin to question my joy and want to have it themselves. Let it be so in my life, Spill Out Of Me JESUS!!

Day 14- Straight

As I study in Mark I found some pretty awesome stuff on preparing and making straight the way. The Greek word for prepare is to make ready, or to have things in order. So if there was a messenger then they would ride ahead make sure all the bridges are down, the land was flat, the gates were open before the king even arrived. He was sent to Prepare and make things as they should be for the king. I also got into the word Straight, it means to level something, or to make it not curvy. But the thing I really liked in that word is this: it has a sense of urgency. So when John the Baptist is out in the desert crying out for the people to come and repent it is not a thing where they can tomorrow if they want but whenever is fine kind of thing. NO, it's a you have to right now kind of thing, it's so urgent because we don't know when he'll be here. He didn't know when the king was coming but he knew that when He did it was going to be the greatest thing ever. He knew that when Jesus arrived on the spot that He not only wanted himself to be ready, but was so selfless that he wanted others to be ready as well. Since he was this way He didn't care about anything else so much so it transferred into his dining, and clothing. He was so focused on God and the preparation that needed to take place that nothing else mattered to him except that. He didn't care about what others thought of himself, but what they thought of Christ. I want that today so badly, that I lose sight of what others think of me and get lost in Him. I don't want to let little things like appearance and food get in my way of getting closer to Him, or leading others to Him. I want nothing more than the embrace of the Father and the calmness and peace that happens when the King arrives!